Children of the Gods
= A new Breed = The power wielded by the children of the firstborn gods was of a lesser nature than that of their primal parents, but it was still a terrible thing to behold. Unfortunately, several of them were scheming and power-hungry, and whenever they started uniting with each other against a common foe, their opponents days were numbered - even when those opponents turned out to be some of the original 12. And with most of the primal gods incapacitated or dead after the end of the Divine Wars, the fate of the world was then shaped by all these lesser gods, instead. = Descendants of Zuras = Mystel - The Goddess of Fate Title: The Living Fate Domains: Fate, Causality, Time Born from Gidd and Zuras, Mystel has always been the most secretive among the lesser gods. Not directly bound by the forces of time, she is the only being who can see and traverse the streams of fate freely, giving her unparalleled insight into the past, the present and the future. Only rarely does she ever interact with mortals - and even if she does, her decisions will often seem odd or arbitrary to those affected. She does care deeply for the well-being of Arborea, however, and until now following her guidance has always lead to greater good. With that being said, in the light of her usual secrecy, her decision to establish the Templars of Dawn is quite an unbelievable step - and a clear sign that the dangers which Arborea is facing right now must be bigger than ever before. Velik - The Goddess of the Hunt Title: The Eternal Huntress Domains: Hunting, Courage, Subterfuge Also born from Zuras and Gidd, Velik is the current patron god of Humans, as well as the Goddess of the Hunt and of Bravery. When the Divine War raged at its worst, Velik vowed to end any violence within the vicinity of her Temple. Soon after, Velika's reputation as a place of peace spread throughout Arun and Shara, and refugees from the wars traveled there. However, racial tensions soon rose until a civil war broke loose. Seeing the violence outside her palace, an infuriated Velik set out to stalk the streets, ending anyone with the temerity to break her proclamation. Hundreds died on that "Night of Black Arrows", human and nonhuman alike. Her actions bore fruit, however. Velik became an island of continuous peace in the raging tides of the Divine Wars. This evenutally lead to the city also becoming the ancestral home of the Humans, who finally ended their centuries-long cursed oddyssey - by settling there with Velik's blessings. Kaia - The Goddess of Warriors Title: -- Domains: Honor, Tactics, Strength Another daughter of Zuras, she is the current patron deity of the Amani, and the one primarily responsible for freeing them from the yoke of the giants. She had always shown a lot of interest in the affairs of the mortals, and spent almost all of her existence with them, teaching them all kinds of martial arts - even long before the lesser gods lost access to the Divine Halls. She despises hollow veneration and needless decorum, and is the most accessible and cordial of the lesser gods. Often enough, she can even be seen wandering through Kaiator, giving advice and guidance to young warriors, Amani and non-Amani alike. Thulsa - The God of Ambition Title: The Instigator Domains: Strife, Ambition, Chaos Originally one of the weakest among the lesser gods, he spent decade after decade, century after century with plans to strengthen his power. What skill he lacked in terms of intrigue and subterfuge, he made up for with brutality and ruthlessness. And many of his plans bore fruit - on one hand, he experimented with many races to create useful creatures that would fight for him, and on the other he acquired several of Lok's more dangerous artifacts. His most notable success may have been the war campaign against Guruda though - which, after much blood and destruction, ended with her death. From then on, in addition to his many other resources, he could also count on the allegiance of the gulas and vampirs, finally making him a force to be reckoned with in the grand scheme of things. = Descendants of Elinu = Balder - The God of Radiance Title(s): The Sunlord, The Blind God Domains: Light, Compassion, Wisdom One of the twin gods born to Elinu and Karas, he was held in very high regard by all the other gods for his wisdom and diplomatic skill. Due to this, all lesser gods agreed that each of them would constantly share a part of his or her power with Balder. This made Balder easily the strongest among the lesser gods. So great was his power, that when his father Karas cursed the Ancient Light and plunged Arborea into continuous twilight, Balder sacrificed his sight so that others in the world could see. He tore out his own eyes and hurled them into the sky, where they became the twin suns that give Arborea light to this day. However, even the wisdom of Balder could not keep the gods at peace forever. He was unintentionally killed by Lok, who created and placed the Crown of Phanes upon him - indirectly also robbing the other gods of a considerable part of their power. Ishara - The Goddess of Splendor Title: The Dazzling One Domains: Ambition, Illusion, Intrigue Less gifted with diplomatic skill and power than her twin brother, she looked up to Balder right from the beginning. Sadly, admiration eventually turned into envy, and envy turned into greed. This led her to to devise a plan to rob him of his power. For this, she first convinced Lok that her brother's power was too big, and that it was starting to affect his mind - to the point that he would soon descend into madness. Hearing this, Lok gathered the best Devan artisans to create the artifact known as the Crown of Phanes. The crown was originally just meant to channel the collected power of the gods away from Balder and store it somewhere - but its actual effect was far more terrible. When an unsuspecting Balder put on the crown, it robbed him not only of all his power, but also of his life. Lok - The God of Trickery Title: The Artificier Domains: Artifice, Intelligence, Change Elinu's firstborn and the oldest of the lesser gods, Lok had inherited his father Karas' cleverness and quickly became renowned as an inventor. Among many other legendary artifacts, he fashioned the ingenious magic device that freed the Amani people from their magical enslavement by the giants. Sadly however, his intellect was greater than his wisdom, and so he believed his younger sister Ishara's lies about Balder's growing insanity, leading him to create the Crown of Phanes - that unintentionally killed Balder in the end, and even channeled away a considerable part of the other gods' powers. In a fit of panic, Lok made things even worse when he grabbed the keys to the Divine Halls and tried to escape. Balders former friend and bodyguard Shakan killed Lok son after, before he could reveal where he had hidden the keys - and so the doors to the Divine Halls will remain shut forever. = Descendants of Isren = Seren - The Goddess of the Moon Title: The Azure Enchantress Domains: Moonlight, Lakes, Elementals, Magic Although there are no major legends describing her birth, most people assume that she arose from the love relationship between Isren and Sikander shortly before the beginning of the Divine Wars. Among the lesser gods, Seren is the one that showed the greatest talent at magic, and has often demonstrated that very prowess by intervening in favor of lesser beings who got harassed by higher forces. She also came to adopt the Elin and Popori races, becoming their new patron during the continued absence of Elinu. By doing so, among other things, she has also taken over the task of creating new Elins. = Minor Gods = Kilian - The God of Fear A son to Saleron, and probably the most cunning of the lesser gods. But unlike Thulsa, his plans never involved large-scale battles or war campaigns. Instead, he made sure to always be close when bits and scraps of power became available, slowly building his strength, all the while trying not to draw any attention from other, more powerful gods. At the end of the Divine Wars, he had hardly participated in any battle, but still amassed enough power to overthrow a then-weakened and unpopular Saleron, imprisoning him deep in the earth. Nerezzar - God of the Deathless A minor god associated with necromancy, worshipped by many devas. Oriyn - God of Wisdom The God of Wisdom and former patron of the Baraka. He was murdered by Dagon during the Divine War. Akasha - Goddess of Rage Born as a daughter to Guruda, Akasha was the one who managed to kill a weakened Gidd during the height of the Divine Wars. Lakan - God of the Unseen A reclusive god with an interest in shaping life and creatures. He was Thulsa's helping hand during the creation of many of the forcibly altered races, like the Kobolds and Tuwangi.